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Background Information: Nuclear Disasters in History

Photo courtesy of Vlad Vozniuk/URBEX.

While the Chernobyl explosion is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history, it was far from the world's first nuclear disaster—or the world's last. Below is a list of nuclear disasters, from radioactive contamination in 1957 to a nuclear accident that left five people dead in 2019.

September 1957, Kyshtym, Russia. A radioactive contamination accident at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. Hot particles spread over 20,000 square miles and about 10,000 people were evacuated.

October 1957, Cumberland, United Kingdom. A fire at the British atomic bomb project burned for three days, releasing radioactive contamination across the UK and Europe.

January 1961, Idaho, United States. An explosion at the National Reactor Testing Station killed 3 operators in the facility.

October 1966, Michigan, United States. The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station just barely escaped disaster when a reactor suffered a partial core meltdown.

January 1969, Vaud, Switzerland. An accident at the Lucens reactor led to a partial core meltdown and radioactive contamination in a serious nuclear accident.

December 1975, Greifswald, East Germany. An electrical error at the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant caused a fire that destroyed control lines and coolant pumps in the facility.

January 1976, Jaslovské Bohunice, Czechoslovakia. A malfunction during fuel replacement led to a carbon dioxide leak that killed 2 workers.

February 1977, Jaslovské Bohunice, Czechoslovakia. A combination of design problems and human mistakes during a fuel change caused the worst nuclear accident in Czech history.

March 1979, Pennsylvania, United States. A partial meltdown of a reactor at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station ranked 5 out of 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

March 1985, Alabama, United States. A systems malfunction led to the suspension of operations at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant.

May 1986, Hamm-Uentrop, West Germany. A reactor released small amounts of fission products into the surrounding area.

March 1987, Pennsylvania, United States. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered the closing of the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station due to operator misconduct, corporate malfeasance, and blatant disregard for the health and safety of the area.

December 1987, New York, United States. Malfunctions forced Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to shut down one unit of the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station.